In the Night of Death
by WhisperedMemories
Summary: It's 2014, and when Dean dies, he's no longer the same Dean we know. But Castiel still loves him, crawls bleeding and dying to him during that fateful battle at the Sanitarium, curls up beside his body, and forgives him. Destiel, all the way.


_In the night of death, hope sees a star, and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing. ~Robert Ingersoll_

_0_

_0_

_0_

It's him.

Even through the haze of pain and blood, Castiel knows. Beside him, blood covers the floor, Rissa's entrails pour out through her abdomen and her eyes have become blank marbles. The demons lurk, watching him with their abominable black eyes, growling but not attacking. Castiel hisses and stands up, ignoring the gash down two-thirds of his chest. He ignores the blood dripping into his eyes where an exploding window had caught him.

He lets out a cry and whips his gun around, taking one demon down in a single shot. Blood spatters the wall and Castiel sobs. The other demon comes forth to avenge its kin and he grabs it by the throat and slams it to the ground. It whips its knife up and splits his side open. Castiel softly gasps, but points the barrel at the demons forhead.

"He's dead," cackles the abomination. "My king will kill him."

Castiel pulls the trigger and doesn't flinch when brains and hemoglobin splash across his face. He gasps and sits back, staring at the carnage around him, half in shock, half in triumph. He lies back, feeling his life ebb away from his side where he can feel his skin peeling back to expose muscle and organs. Then, he hears a cry of rage and agony.

_Dean._

Castiel takes a deep breath and sits up, dragging himself across the floor. He falls three times.

Once, he slips in blood.

Once, he thinks himself hallucinating, denying that Dean is going to die. He falls down and realizes that no, this is real and that the hunter needs him.

Once, he reaches the stairs and tries to stand. His blood slicked hand slips on the railing and he doesn't go crashing down the stairs. His knees give out from blood loss, and he's left trapped on the second floor with no way to reach Dean.

_Dean._

He props himself up on his arms and drags himself down the stairs on his elbows. Now he understands why Bobby was so enraged. He hears a gunshot and he knows it failed. Castiel crawls faster, making it to the door and losing his shoes in the process. He worms his way across the back garden, through the cold, dewey grass until he sees it.

Lucifer, in Sam's body. Poor, gentle, broken Sam. And he's standing over Dean with a foot on his throat and Castiel goes to cry out, but he's too late. Lucifer pushes and Dean's neck snaps like a stick.

And then, Castiel feels his heart stop. But he refuses to die. He still sees light in Dean's eyes. There is a speck of life in him. He will not let him die alone. He restarts his heart and crawls forth, gasping from his failing lungs.

But then…

There is Dean's past self, still so full of fight and desperate hope. He's facing down with Lucifer and though Castiel's brain is shutting down, his _very_ mortal body is breaking, he hears him say something that breaks his heart.

"You're not fooling me, you know that? With this sympathy for the Devil crap. I know what you are."

"What am I?" croons Lucifer and Castiel wants to rip the bastard apart. He knows his fallen brother is toying with Dean's past self. He finds himself waiting, watching to see what happens.

"The same brand of cockroach I've been squashing my whole life. An ugly, _evil_, belly to the ground, supernatural piece of crap!"

And Castiel smiles. How he loves this man. But then his hearing fades out again and the ground blurs before him. When his vision clears, Lucifer and past Dean are gone and all that's left is his Dean's broken body.

"Dean," whispers Castiel, struggling through the blood clotting in his throat. He's almost dead, he can feel it. But he pulls himself over to the man's side and looks down at him with tears pouring down his face again. Blank green eyes stare back. Eyes that were once bright jade and full of life. Eyes that slowly faded with time and constant guilt to a shadow of their former glory, but still the green that Castiel loved. Now they were flat and lifeless.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," gasped Castiel, reaching up and pulling Dean's face towards him, leaving bloody trails on his face. His skin was cold and rain had started to pour, the only evidence of Lucifer ever being there. Castiel struggled until he could rest his head on Dean's chest and Castiel clasped the other man's stiff hand in his.

He could feel how much Dean had suffered since he and Sam had quit talking. He could feel the overwhelming guilt for every one of the men he had lost, turned Croatoan, or had to kill. Over everything was the gut-wrenching sorrow that was associated with Sam. How Dean's resolve must have crumbled when he saw Lucifer in Sam!

"I forgive you," whispered Castiel, now unable to move his body. He was whispering words that Dean had wanted to hear before he died. From everyone. "I still love you."

And then he died.

0

0

0

_Bawwww. Future!Castiel is one of the saddest things on the show._

_Please Review!_


End file.
